


Pokemon Chronicles - Kanto

by cateye007



Series: Pokemon Chronicles - A Journey Through Several Generations [1]
Category: Pocket Monsters | Pokemon (Main Video Game Series), Pocket Monsters: Red & Green & Blue & Yellow | Pokemon Red Green Blue Yellow Versions
Genre: Action/Adventure, Comedy, Gen
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-05-31
Updated: 2020-06-18
Packaged: 2021-03-03 02:33:35
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 10,860
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24477247
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/cateye007/pseuds/cateye007
Summary: Faylynn Rowena Lachance was excited to make the journey through Kanto with her friend to complete the Pokedex for the local professor. However, with the dangers of the outside world lurking around every corner, as well as organized crime on the rise, Faylynn may be in for more than she bargained for.(This is a story that is in the POV and focus on an original character. If you don't like that, don't read this story.)
Series: Pokemon Chronicles - A Journey Through Several Generations [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1767997
Kudos: 1





	1. Prologue

(An important thing to note: Blue is in this story, but in my go through of the game, I named him Ceru, as in Cerulean. Which is why he isn’t named Blue, Green, or Gary.)

My name is Faylynn Rowena Lachance, and although it may not look it, I’ve been through quite a lot. I’m 25 years old, and I am a Pokemon Trainer. 

I was born in the Hoenn region, in Petalburg city. My mom’s name is Johanna, and my dad’s name is Norman. He’s a gym leader. That might be where my want to become a trainer came from. Heck, both of my parents were pokemon trainers. My father was a battler, and my mother was a coordinator, and in her youth, was the reigning champion of Hearthome’s pokemon contests. Never knew what that place was until I was sixteen, but that’s a story for later.

I was around 2 when my mother and I moved to Kanto. It wasn’t that my mom and dad divorced or anything. They were forced to separate, in truth. Father couldn’t leave his work as a gym leader, and mother apparently got transferred at  _ her _ work. We moved to a little lesser-known place off the path of main cities called Pallet Town.

It was a quiet place, a nice little town to stay in. We lived there for a long while, since mother wanted to enroll me in the school nearby. But before then, I met someone very important to me.

A man who lived in the same neighborhood...I remember my mom calling him ‘Samuel’, was taking care of a little boy while the boy’s parents were off on a long business trip. The boy was my age, and was a pretty spunky kid, even at 2 years old. He was so curious about the world and the wonders it had to offer.

His name would be something I’d remember through my entire life.

That boy’s name was...Ceru.

Ceru and I first met when my mother wanted to speak to Samuel about something. But she didn’t call him ‘Samuel’ around the man himself. Instead, she referred to him by his last name, ‘Oak’. He was Ceru’s grandfather, and one of the most important people to him, seemingly. But as soon as Ceru saw my face, he became so interested. He didn’t want to let go of me.

According to my mother, most of our time spent at that age was full of squealing, tumbling, and giggling as we...sort of wrestled on the ground. Neither of our soft and pudgy bodies got hurt in any way, and we were always smiling at eachother.

As time went on, we became older, and we both enrolled in the same school. I met Ceru’s parents at registration...I don’t really remember what they looked like, but he looked nearly nothing like them. Maybe time would tell.

Ceru and I didn’t have any classes together, but we did walk home together every day. Every single day, I waited for Ceru’s class to be dismissed, unless I knew he was sick, and we’d go back to Pallet on foot, seeing that it was within walking distance.

In 2nd grade, the teachers realized that my reading and comprehension levels were higher than most of their other students, and I was pulled out of class for some sort of test. Apparently, I was something called “gifted”.

I didn’t know what it was all about, and why Ceru suddenly became jealous of me...he would walk away and try to get away from me quickly, to the point of running when I’d try to walk home with him. We almost stopped being friends until he saw me crying while I was still waiting, one day. He explained to me that he was only being stupid and jealous, all because being gifted meant one was smart.

But when he knew how much he was hurting me, he put aside his jealousy, and wanted to be friends with me again. I’m so glad he set aside his pride. If he didn’t, who knew what would have happened to our friendship?

Three years passed, I was age 10, and that’s when my life took a turn. A turn that would shape my fate for years to come.

Two boys in my town got into a weird spat about something. I didn’t really know what they were talking about, but all of a sudden, one unhooked a red and white ball from their belt, and another did the same, pulling one out of his bag. One released a cute bird in a flash of bright red light, the other, a purple rat. The two animals began to fight, as the two boys shouted commands and pointed the creatures in the directions they wanted them to go.

I was in awe. Not at all disgusted because of fighting, but because this sort of display was something I only read about or saw on the television. It was phenomenal to see it in real life. To feel the rush of the wind from wings, to hear the rustle of the grass under clawed feet...just spectating was absolutely exhilarating.

A real pokemon battle.

When I saw the rat fall, the one owning it looked disheartened, and returned the creature to its pokeball. The boy owning the bird happily accepted the payment from his opponent, then patted him on the back like Ceru would do to me. They weren’t enemies. They were just friends in some weird dispute about cash. But that wasn’t what was going through my mind.

I was so excited. That was exactly when I knew what I wanted to do. I wanted to become a trainer and battle others, just to feel the rush for myself. When I spoke to Ceru, he said something very strange to me.

“Oh yeah! My grandpa says that once summer starts, I’ll be able to go on a journey with my own pokemon, myself. He wants someone to help him document the pokemon around the region, but me, ha! I wanna take on the Indigo League! I wanna become strong and have my name heard all around the region!” He boasted. “I dunno...maybe you could do the same! Though, I think  _ my  _ name has a better ring to it when shouted by millions of people!”

“Oh yeah?” I jokingly asked, giving him a playful but harsh nudge as I bumped into him, giving off a playful smirk.

“Yeah!” He shoved me, smiling back. 

We kept pushing and grabbing at each other, until we were tumbling on the ground like we were two years old again, laughing until our stomachs ached. We weren’t as soft and plush as we were back then, so we may have gotten a few bruises, but we were able to control ourselves and stop when we decided we had enough. Saying our goodbyes, I ran inside as quick as a flash to tell my mom about it. 

Surprisingly, she was absolutely thrilled! I was a little worried that my mother was someone who didn’t really want their child running off on an adventure. But when she realized I wanted to become a pokemon trainer like her, she was like a little kid whose wish came true on Spirit’s Eve morning.

During the last few months of school, my mom was speaking with Mr.--Oh, excuse me;  _ Professor  _ Oak about letting me go on an adventure to fill out a Pokedex for him. He accepted in a heartbeat, realizing his son wasn’t...too interested in the notion. They said that the first day of the upcoming summer, I’d be starting on my journey. The same day as Ceru. There was one teeny little problem, though.

How would I go back home when school started again?

When my mother read up about the gym leaders Ceru kept filling my head with information about, she noticed something odd.

There was an ability I read about in one of my school books called Fly, that some pokemon could learn. With this move, they could not only get the drop on enemies, but also carry their trainer across the region to wherever they wanted to go, as long as they already knew a location.

There was only one problem. Only those with something called the Thunder Badge could use their pokemon to Fly outside of battle.

Looks like it was my destiny to take on the League as well.

When we were on the last day of school, we were allowed to wander the campus grounds and hang out wherever we wanted, unless it was dangerous. But I was what you’d call a ‘good kid.’ All I wanted to do was find Ceru so I could talk with him about everything that would be going on starting on the first day of Summer, but he got the jump on me, first.

“Body Slam!” He shouted, leaping for me and slamming into my back, almost taking me down. I stood my ground surprisingly well, and locked him in a tight hug by turning around. 

“Constriction!” Like him, I shouted another attack and wrapped my arms around his shoulders tight. He patted my back to get me to loosen up, and he grabbed my wrist without another word, and dragged me into a stairwell. We crouched under the stairs, and he began searching through his backpack immediately. 

He showed me something amazing that his grandpa gave him. It was a book on all 151 pokemon that appeared in this region. I was in awe. There were so many, I couldn’t believe it! Not only the ones shown in our schoolbooks, but there were majestic blue dragons that lived in the sea, giant, imposing, but beautiful birds that had aspects of weather attributed to them, mistresses of ice that lived in the snowy mountains, and my personal favorite: Yellow, humanoid bipeds who had amazing Extrasensory Perception.

I wanted to find all of these on my journey. All of them.

On my way home, I waved goodbye to Ceru one more time, and he told me to get my rest, because tomorrow, I had to wake up early to get the starter pokemon I wanted for my journey, or he, in his own words, ‘Might just take it from me.’

My name is Faylynn Rowena Lachance, and this is where my journey begins.


	2. How It All Began

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Faylynn officially starts her journey through Kanto, with Ceru...sorta at her side. Eager to finally start on her way, she meets her first Pokemon, gifted by Professor Oak, and obtains her Pokedex.

6:00 AM. Much earlier than I’d like to admit was when I set my alarm. I was supposed to arrive to the lab the earliest I could, at 7 AM. So at least, I’d have about an hour to get ready and eat my breakfast before I’d go. After brushing out my hair and getting dressed in my comfiest set of clothes that included a headband I wore so my bangs wouldn’t get in my eyes, I slowly walked down the stairs.

My mom was an early riser herself, so it was no surprise to see her in the kitchen, watching the coffee pot chug away. Oh, it always smelled so good when coffee was being made. But I remember the taste being much less than pleasant.

“G’morning, mom,” I said still walking down the stairs. “Did you expect me to be up by this time?” I must have shocked her, because she jumped the instant she heard my voice.

“As a matter of fact, no, I didn’t!” She said, a small laugh to her gentle voice. “I’d expect you to take at least thirty more minutes of sleep before coming downstairs! Want some coffee?” she jokingly asked. I responded with a disgusted face, tongue sticking out with an appropriate ‘Bleeeeehhhhh’ noise, making her giggle. “I know, dear. I know,” she said, patting my head of lilac hair. 

“By the way,” She started, getting out something from the freezer. “Did you pack the things you needed to?” I nodded, and began listing off all the things I had packed. By the time I was done talking, I had a plate out in front of me. On the plate was scrambled eggs, what looked like sausage...patties, and a fresh, still warm waffle with blueberries on and baked into it.

“That’s my girl,” She said, pointing at me with a wink. “Now, eat up. I want you to have your strength for when you go on this journey. It’s a rough road ahead, so you gotta get enough food in you!” I obeyed...for some reason, home cooking never tasted as good as it did today.

After I was done eating up, I saw the sun peeking over the trees on the horizon, and watched it, still sitting in my chair. I had a few more minutes to kill, so I watched the sun until it hurt my eyes. I ran up to my room, still exhilarated from the excitement of embarking on a journey, grabbed my backpack and was about to go out the door, when I realized something.

I turned to my mom and gave her the tightest hug I could. This was the first time I’d be leaving home for the Summer, and I realized how much I was going to miss my mom.

“I know, honey,” She said, as if she had an innate sense of what was going through my mind. “I’ll miss you, too. But I’ll see you in three months, I’m sure.”

With that, I was out the door and on my way to the lab.

I was excited to really, finally go on an adventure. I would be able to see new places, meet new people, and even though I’d be on my own, I’d at least be coming back after three months.

Maybe I wasn’t going to be alone. Maybe Ceru would be with me on my journey. But knowing his eagerness, he’d probably surpass me soon enough. But I figured only time would tell, wouldn’t it?

Speaking of time, the instant I got to the lab door, I could swear I could hear a clock in there chiming seven times. 7:00 AM on the dot. With a belly full and a mind awake and ready, I confidently was about to press the doorbell, when the door opened, startling the daylights out of me. 

Ceru stood there, his messy hair, for once, a bit neater than it normally was. He gave me that smirk he always did when I told him something that he knew he could one-up. I mean, this one was inevitable. He lived upstairs from the lab.

“You’re earlier than I thought, Fay!” He chuckled, making me do a small, awkward and tired laugh in return. “Yeah...well, the place is open. You can come on in! This way, we can pick together.” He led me inside, and pointed me to a table with three pokeballs sitting on it. I looked them over. One was marked ‘#001’, one was marked ‘#004’, and the final one, ‘#007’.

“I see someone got here early,” a voice to the left of us chimed in. I turned, and almost felt a little ashamed that I didn’t even say hello to the professor. “You must be as eager as my grandson here...but that’s to be expected. If I remember, he told me that lately, it’s been all you two have been talking about.” Ceru scoffed at his grandfather’s comment.

“It was you who got me interested in this! And...and Fay’s mom was all for it,” He said, gesturing his hands about wildly. “But that’s beside the point, gramps...Fay and I are done with waiting! We want to pick our pokemon!”

“Alright. Well, it is true that all children must leave home someday...but the two of you had best be coming back when school starts up again!” Oak said, patting the both of us on our shoulders. He then directed us to the table, and we stood in front of the three pokeballs, looking them over.

“Alright, well, Fay,” Ceru said, gesturing to the table. “You pick first!” I looked at him with a bit of concern, trying to seem sincere.

“But...but what if I pick the pokemon you want? You were interested in this before me, so, why don’t you go first?” I asked, trying to be nice. But he shook his head.

“It wouldn’t be fair if I picked the pokemon you wanted! You need to go first!”

“Ok, you know what?” I said, putting my hands up. “Let’s pick them at the same time. If we pick the same one, we do a best 2 out of 3 Rock, Paper, Scissors to see who gets it, okay?” I smiled as I watched Ceru nod in agreement.

“Alright then, on the count of three?” He asked. I nodded back, and we both turned to the table.

“One...two...THREE!”

With that, I had grabbed hold of the pokeball I wanted, #001, and thankfully, Ceru’s hand wasn’t on the same one. His hand was on #004. We smiled at each other, and cheered, so ecstatic to meet our first pokemon.

Releasing them from their pokeballs, we got to meet them for the first time. I looked over at mine with wonder, and it stared back with its triangular, red eyes. I remembered what this one was if the giant, leafy bud on its back was any indication.

A Bulbasaur.

It leapt up to me, a huge grin on its face as it suddenly wrapped its body around my upper torso. I was almost knocked over, but I kept my arms around it as I spun about at least twice. I hugged the creature close to my body, and it pressed its face to mine.

“He’s so cute, Mr. Oak,” I exclaimed as I held my new companion tight. “I promise, I’ll take care of him forever!”

“Actually,” Oak explained. “That’s a  _ she _ . It was one of the few females, being that those in the line live in packs where there are, at most, three females. Female Bulbasaur being born are very rare, you know. You’re one of the lucky ones!” After he explained, the smile on my face grew once again.

“Can I name her, Oak? Pleeeease?” I asked, looking up at the professor with large, shining puppy-eyes, as my mom would call them. He chuckled as he looked at my nearly pleading face.

“Of course, Faylynn! In truth,” He said, waving his hand at me. “I encourage it!”

“Ack! W-Watch the tail, li’l guy!”

The shouts came from my right, and I saw Ceru holding up an orange reptile with a fire-tipped tail that was constantly wagging like an Growlithe’s. He was keeping the super cheerful creature away from his body, in fear of the fire on its tail. I remembered this creature as well.

A Charmander.

“Wow, Ceru,” I stated. “Smart choice! If I remember correctly, grass is weak to fire! You literally picked the pokemon that’s stronger against mine!” I laughed at that sentence, as did he.

“Hey, how about we have a pokemon battle?” Ceru asked, setting down his Charmander, who seemed to wave at my Bulbasaur. “That way, we can truly see if that’s correct!”

“Ceru, everyone who knows pokemon knows that grass is weak against fire,” I stated as if it was common knowledge.

“Now, now, you two. These pokemon are still young, so they have not yet unlocked their elemental powers.” Oak explained, but Ceru spoke up after him, not even sparing a beat.

“I don’t care,” he nearly shouted with eagerness and excitement. “I wanna see if one has more strength than the other! Mine may look pretty tough, but yours might be tougher! I just wanna know, so I can prepare, ya know!”

“Alright, but...a fight here? In the lab?” I asked, bewildered. “Aren’t you worried you’d break some of the professor’s stuff?”

“Of COURSE not,” Ceru replied. “It’s only scratches and tackles! We won’t mess up anything!”

And with that, the battle commenced.

The Charmander Ceru took control of was barely taller than my Bulbasaur, but he looked formidable. Might have been because I had a grass type going up against a fire type, but like Oak said, despite the fire on Charmander’s tail, they haven’t unlocked their elemental powers as of yet.

“Wait,” Oak said, interrupting us. “Faylynn, you’ve never had a pokemon battle before, have you?”

“Uh, not by myself, no, but I’ve seen them, like, on TV and I spectated a real one before…and I’ve read books. I know how they work, at least.”

“Gramps, cut her some slack,” Ceru said to the professor after I explained myself. “She’s way smarter than she looks!”

“Oh, good! Then I’m sure you don’t need me to explain,” Oak said. “Besides, I’m sure you’ll learn from experience.” He nodded to me and I nodded back, before turning my attention back to the battle.

“Alright then, Rafflesia,” I said, pointing her in the direction of my friend’s Charmander. “Tackle.”

Rafflesia got a running start, and leapt at the flaming lizard, using all its body weight in an attempt to knock it down. It succeeded, but the Charmander got back up like it was nothing.

“Nice one! Okay,” Ceru said, a huge smile on his face, probably as giddy as I was at the prospect of being in a real battle. “Charmander! Scratch it!”

His Charmander ran over and gave my Bulbasaur a nasty scratch across her face. I flinched from just hearing her cry out in pain.

The battle went on for a little longer, when all of a sudden, a scratch hit my Bulbasaur’s plant bud, and she screamed in the most pain I’d ever heard her scream in, and she fell onto her side.

I’m sure all three of us made the same expression of shock.

I ran desperately to Rafflesia and began shaking her to wake her up, but she wasn’t moving. She was breathing at least, but completely knocked out.

“Wow…” Ceru said, almost sounding breathless. “Man...is my pokemon cool, or what! Uh...sorry about that Fay...I-I mean...”

But for some reason, I just couldn’t stop glaring at him.

“Well...now listen. Fay, Ceru,” Oak chimed in, taking our pokeballs after we returned our pokemon to them. “After a battle with another trainer, if you win, they will pay you.” Using an odd little handheld device, he pressed it to both of our pokeballs before handing them back to us. “But if you lose, you’ll need to pay them. However, I don’t think either of you knew that, so...I guess money goes to both of you.”

My confidence had never left me so quickly. I looked at the pokeball with sadness filling my eyes. I felt tears welling up. Was I cut out for this? I don’t think I was if I lost that quickly. I was weak...and so was Rafflesia. But I didn’t want to blame her. I was so close to returning my pokemon, apologizing for wasting the Professor’s time, and running back home, forgetting all about this endeavor.

“Hey, Fay…”

But with a gesture as kind and gentle as a hand on my shoulder, that sadness and low self esteem suddenly turned to rage and annoyance.

“I’m  _ fine,” _ I growled, turning sharply away from him. I didn’t even want to hear his voice, just the mere thought of him pissed me off to no end at this point.

“Fay, you are  _ not  _ fine!” He nearly shouted, his hand on my shoulder gripping tighter and trying to turn me back. But at the tug, I screamed and swung my arm hard to get him to let go of me.

“GO AWAY!!!” I screeched. I was just about to run out when Ceru grabbed me and spoke to me with authority I had no clue a kid his or my age could convey.

“Faylynn, you stop right there and listen to me right now,” he demanded, his arms literally locked around my waist to keep me from moving. I gave in and slumped. “It’s not your fault, or even Rafflesia’s! It’s my Charmander’s!

“Look, if you remembered, that bulb on a Bulbasaur’s back is a very nerve heavy spot. I didn’t specifically tell Charmander to attack the bud! It just...happened to swing for it and...well...the amount of pain caused her to pass out...I’m really...REALLY sorry about that. Just...stop beating yourself up about it. It’s not like you.” 

I turned to look at Ceru, and he was tearing up too. I could hear his voice cracking.

“Don’t stop this journey. Continue and be stronger,” he urged me, holding tightly onto my shoulders. “It wouldn’t be the same for me if you weren’t making this journey with me.”

“Alright,” I finally replied after moments of silence. “But I’m not accepting that apology until I hear it from the Charmander.”

At that, the both of us laughed, and I saw a visible sigh of relief from Oak.

“Right,” Ceru continued when he recovered. “I’m gonna train myself to get stronger, too! Well, Faylynn, Gramps, see you later!” And with that, he ran out of the door.

“Faylynn,” Oak said, a gentle and understanding fatherly tone to his voice. “If you really don’t want to continue...you don’t have to lie to my grandson…”

“No, it’s fine, professor,” I cut him off. “It was only one battle. I’m not letting that change my opinion so easily.” I turned back and gave him one last smile and wave before bolting out the door like Ceru did.

Ceru was waiting for me outside the lab, still as eager as ever. He grabbed my wrist and ran, nearly dislocating my shoulder.

“Jeez,” I shouted. “Can’t you slow down for a second?!” He rushed with me through the tall grass, not even giving me a moment to catch my breath. He came to a sudden stop and turned to me, his face a little apologetic.

“Sorry if I startled you like that, Fay,” he apologized as he let go of my wrist. I rubbed my formerly stretched arm in pain, but smiled back at him. “Go at your own pace,” he said. “Don’t let me drag you along. You know what? I’ll meet up with you in Viridian City!”

With that, Ceru took off in a flash, even quicker than he did before, now that he didn’t have me to watch over and drag along. I slowed down to a comfortable walk, the grass brushing against the legs of my pants as I casually took in the scenery. It was basically the scenic route to school.

I chuckled as I remembered everyone telling us not to go into the tall grass, because we’d get attacked by wild pokemon...but the only things I knew were on this route were birds and rats. How harmful could they really be?

Never underestimate the power of a bite.

I screamed and fell backwards as something grabbed onto the leg of my pants. I found myself on my back, squinting up at the sky, as a soft chittering was heard to my left. I looked over and saw what looked like a Ratatta eyeing me curiously. It slowly trotted over and pressed its paw at the side of my face like it was gauging how much fat I still had left in my cheeks.

I could feel its sharp claws with no intent to pierce the skin being lifted, and then he began sniffing at me. The tickling sensation of its snout was too much, and I burst into laughter as I sat up, startling the rat. It scurried off before I got a chance to have a good look at it, and I sighed. Dusting myself off, I continued on the path.

While making a turn onto another path towards where Ceru headed, a man in red stopped me.

“Hey, you’re from Pallet Town, right? A-And you know Professor Oak?” he asked, sounding almost out of breath.

“Y-Yeah...?” I answered, a little confused.

“Okay, well, see, here’s the thing,” he explained while still huffing and puffing. “I...I tried to stop another kid from your town, but, h-he was too...fast for me to catch up...listen…

“I need you...to go to the Viridian City Mart...and my friend is sitting at the register. Ask him...about the package...for Oak. Do you understand?” He asked.

I nodded with a soft ‘yes sir’ and kept on the path until I reached Viridian. 

Taking in a deep breath of fresh air, the city felt different somehow. It looked exactly the same as it had before, but it felt completely different. I was a different person, not walking my route to school, but walking a route to get something else done…

But Ceru was at the gym, and looking awfully frustrated. I had to go see what was up. I hoisted myself over the ledge and checked on him.

“Well, isn’t this just dandy,” He griped, tapping his foot with his arms crossed, a disappointed look on his face. “The gym door’s locked and there ain’t nobody inside! So much for my first league challenge...”

“Well,” I said trying to make him feel better. “Maybe the gym leader’s out right now. Maybe in an hour or two he’ll come back! But anyways, I need to get to some package from the pokemart.” I leapt down the ledge, but I heard Ceru following me.

“Can I come with? Best way to kill time, I guess,” he said, following behind me at my exact pace. At least at this point he decided to slow himself down a little. We walked in through the automatic doors of the mart, and I briskly walked up to the man at the counter, since nobody was in line.

“Hello, sir?” I asked, getting the clerk’s attention. “We were meant to see you about a package to be delivered to Professor Oak?”

“Oh! You must be the new trainer! Well, here you are,” he said as he lifted a pretty big box that I kinda stared in awe at. “Oh, don’t look so intimidated. Most of it is just fluff, anyways.” He pushed the bag towards me and I lifted it into a comfortable position. The clerk was right. So light, yet a little awkward to carry.

“Need help?” Ceru asked, coming up behind me. I shook my head, and made my way back, him in tow.

“What do you think that is, in there?” he asked, looking at the box I was still carrying. “Think it’s something really cool? Like an egg or something?”

“I’m not sure…” I replied, looking at the large box with uncertainty. There was nothing marking the sides of it except for the stamps of ‘this side up’ that apparently were always required. The address was written on a stamp, but the contents of the box were left off. “It doesn’t say what’s in it…” At my last comment, Ceru got an uncharacteristically mischievous look on his face.

“Well then...why don’t we open it and see what’s inside?” he asked, his voice dancing. I turned my upper body away so he couldn’t reach the box.

“No, Ceru,” I said, worry and annoyance layered over my voice. “That’s like opening someone else’s mail! Oak will know we opened it. What if it’s a surprise for us?! And what if it’s something that can’t be opened under certain conditions?! We might ruin it!” After my rant, I saw Ceru having backed up with his hands up like he meant no harm.

“Okay! Jeez, Fay,” Ceru said, a small, nervous laugh behind his words. “No need to like...yell at me or anything…”

We got back to the lab, Ceru holding the door open for me as I carried the box in my arms.

“You’re back already,” Oak said, as soon as we walked through the door, as if he was expecting us. “And I see you got the box I needed. Without me even telling you about it, as it seems!”

“Why didn’t you tell us in the first place, grandpa? We would have gone straight to Viridian and back if you did! Was this a test?” Ceru asked, raising his voice a little too much. He covered his mouth immediately, but the professor just chuckled and shook his head and chuckled.

“It seemed to have slipped my mind,” he said. “Besides, you two were so eager to start on your journey, you forgot the most important things that all trainers need!” With that, he reached into the box and pulled out two Pokedexes.

“AND YOU DIDN’T HAVE THEM BEFORE?!” Ceru shouted. He was quickly cut off by Oak, who explained himself. In truth, I was a little disappointed as well that we didn’t get our Pokedexes instantly.

“Now now, young man, don’t shout! Now let me explain,” Oak said, trying to calm down a clearly agitated Ceru. “I was meant to get them today, myself, but since the two of you were so eager to get on with your journey, I thought that the two of you might actually run into the one meant to remind me about the box along the way. So, it seemed to work out nicely. You two got to have a bit of journeying fun, and got something important as well!”

“Well, alright,” Ceru sighed, sort of ashamed for yelling at his grandfather like that. “Oh, uh, by the way, Gramps, you know anything about the Viridian City gym leader? When we went there, it was closed, and it was all dark inside.”

“About that...the gym has been closed for over a year,” The professor explained, looking out one of the windows. “Gym leaders tend to change, but even I forget who was the previous leader of that gym...or even if it’s still the same one.” He put a hand on his chin in thought. “So, I’d advise you two to go past the forest and into Pewter City. There, you’ll find another gym, and you’ll be able to get your first badge. Just make sure to train up, and don’t just use one pokemon. These ought to help!” With that, he reached back into the box.

“These were also meant to be here...good thing they were all packaged in one box,” Oak said, chuckling to himself as he pulled out what looked like several little bicolor marbles. Both Ceru and I knew exactly what they were.

“Pokeballs,” we whispered out simultaneously.

“Yes, five each,” Oak said, handing us the pokeballs he ordered. “If you end up breaking one or two in an attempt to catch, you’ve no need to worry. The both of you do have money with you, so if need be, you can buy more at a Pokemart.”

“Thank you so much, Grandpa! You just wait,” Ceru exclaimed, nearly barreling out the door. “I’m gonna get really strong...a-and beat the indigo league before you know it!” And with that, he was out the door, and down the road to Viridian City.

“I guess I’d better be going too,” I said, before bowing to the professor in thanks. “Thanks for everything! I promise you, the pokedex will be completed before I return! Or...at least I’ll get a lot of pokemon!”

“Go at your own pace, Faylynn,” Oak said in a near whisper. Placing a hand on my shoulder. “It doesn’t matter how long it takes you. What matters is that you make the most of your journey.”

I nodded back and ran out the door. I sped down the way to Viridian, and passed by the Gym, looking back at it with a bit of curiosity. I quickly put my mind back on the journey, and made my way into the Viridian Forest.


	3. A Rocky Road

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Faylynn makes her way through the Viridian Forest and reaches Pewter City, ready to take on the gym leader, Brock!

Of course the forest was as dark and as dense as everyone talked it up to be. Even with how eager Ceru was to get on with his journey, I wasn’t even sure that he could get through this maze of trees. I wove my way through some of the trunks until I got to something of a clearer area. I was looking around, trying to find some sort of path, until I bumped into a kid who was holding a net over his shoulder.

“Oh! Sorry,” the boy apologized, backing away from me. “My friends and I are holding a bug catching competition. There’s a lot of bug Pokemon around these parts, and we’re trying to get them before the birds do!”

“Birds? Like...Pidgeys and Spearows and stuff?” I asked, curious and rather intrigued. “I’ve been thinking about getting one of those…”

“Yeah, like Pidgeys! They eat Caterpies and Weedles, and me and my buddies wanna catch them before the early birds literally get the worms,” the bug catcher said, looking around. “Only problem is, my friends are already deeper in the forest. I wanted us all to start this search fair and square, and they up and left without me! I bet they already got a bunch of bugs…” He crossed his arms and pouted, sad at his apparently missed chance.

“Well, I’m going on a little journey to catch pokemon myself, but if you want, I could go and find your buddies for you,” I selflessly offered. “It’s the least I can do.”

“You would do that? Aw, shucks,” the bug catcher chuckled, almost seeming flustered by my offer. “That’d be a huge help, miss! Now, I came here with six others, so there’d be seven of us in total. I’m sure they’re still in the forest. Just ask them if they know a kid in a yellow hat.”

I nodded and set off. Hoping to find pokemon, as well as the other kids in the forest, I wandered into the tall grass. The first thing my ears picked up sounded like sobbing, so I went to see what was going on. I found a little kid with a weedle nearby, looking like it had already stung the poor kid. I stamped my foot and shouted, making the Weedle scamper off, so I could help the kid up.

“Are you okay?” I asked. The poor child shook his head no, and explained in a very hushed voice that he wanted to catch the Weedle, but all his pokeballs failed to catch it. I frowned and comforted the boy, but then I remembered what I was meant to do. “Wait, kid, do you know a boy wearing a yellow hat?” Thankfully, the little kid nodded in response. I pointed him off in the direction of the boy who I spoke to earlier. After watching him scamper off in that direction, I was about to set off, but a screech to my left caught my attention.

I turned just in time to see a pair of clawed feet going straight for my face. I ducked, falling onto my back, and saw in front of me, a very angry looking Pidgey. It was looking at me as if I’d just thrown away its lunch, which I probably did, by scaring away the Weedle. I stared it down, and sent out Rafflesia to take care of it.

Sure, it may have seemed dumb to send out a grass type against a flying type, but neither of them really knew any attacks that had a type advantage, which I was pretty thankful for. Along with Rafflesia being stronger than the Pidgey, a single tackle landed a critical hit, bringing the Pidgey into a very weak state. I reached for one of the empty pokeballs, and chucked it straight at the Pidgey. It was captured effortlessly.

After I fist pumped with a near silent ‘yes’, I picked up the pokeball, and for some reason, my pokedex beeped when I scanned it. It came up with some rather detailed information, even showing a turnaround of the pokemon, itself.

* * *

_Pidgey. The Tiny Bird Pokemon._

_Pidgey has an extremely sharp sense of direction. It is capable of unerringly returning home to its nest, however far it may be removed from its familiar surroundings._

* * *

“An unnatural sense of direction, huh?” I murmured, smiling and turning the pokeball around in my hands. “I think I know what I’m gonna name you. I hope you want a name…” When the Pokedex identified that the Pidgey was male, I knew exactly what I wanted to name it.

“...Mercury.”

After my little victory of my first real catch, I realized I nearly knocked out the pokemon I caught, and I made a mad dash back to Viridian to at least heal up Mercury. When I got back to the forest, I went back on my quest to find the friends of the boy near the entrance.

“You know what, Raff,” I said to the Bulbasaur at my side, since I hadn’t yet returned her to her pokeball. “I can’t believe I haven’t yet had a chance to identify you. I think I should fix that.” With that, I took out my pokedex, and immediately scanned her.

* * *

_Bulbasaur. The Seed Pokemon._

_Bulbasaur can be seen napping in bright sunlight. There is a seed on its back. By soaking up the sun's rays, the seed grows progressively larger._

* * *

“Wow,” I said, after closing my pokedex. “Hopefully you’ll still fit in your pokeball after all these sunny days we have coming our way!” I continued on the path, Rafflesia smiling at me, until I heard a voice to my side.

“Hey! You,” the voice shouted as footsteps approached. I turned to my right and saw a boy who was around my height, with a net slung over his shoulder. “Let me have a try at that Bulbasaur of yours! I wanna see how strong these bug pokemon I just caught are!”

At that, I heard Rafflesia make a terrified squeak as it crouched behind my legs, hiding from the boy, who had a Caterpie and Weedle at his side, who seemed to be staring hungrily at the bulb on the back of my pokemon. I glared at the boy, who had a rather cocky grin on his face.

“Well then,” I said, taking out the other pokeball I held. “If you think they’re so strong, let’s see them take down something that has a type advantage!” Tossing the pokeball, I sent out Mercury, which despite its size, tried its best to look intimidating. The two bug pokemon backed up a little in fear, but the bug catcher sent them out to fight my pidgey anyways.

Despite not having any moves that’d really affect them, Mercury took down both the Weedle and Caterpie in one fell swoop. The bug catcher looked at me, awfully disheartened, but I placed a hand on his shoulder, and gave him a bit of advice.

“Uhm...rock, ice, and electric can get flying pokemon good. Maybe look for some of those pokemon. Oh, and by the way,” I said, trying to keep my mind on the request I took. “Do you know a boy wearing a bright yellow hat? He’s looking for you.”

“Oh, right! Oh gosh,” the young bug catcher said, suddenly embarrassed. “I guess he feels really bad that I left him hanging, huh? I-I was just following the others…”

“He’s still at the entrance, so go back,” I told the boy, pointing him in the direction. “He’s waiting for you!” And with that, the bug catcher and I separated, and went on our respective ways.

I was able to find and thankfully defeat the rest of the boys scattered throughout the forest, some having been lucky enough to catch cocooned forms of the two bug pokemon found through the forest. But after Mercury had gotten strong enough to use gust, they were all taken out even easier than the first boy.

When the rest of them had been gathered, I ran back to see. They were all standing with the boy in the yellow hat, chatting and sharing information they found out about the types of pokemon living in the forest. But as soon as the boy in the center saw me, he broke out of the crowd.

“Oh, thank you SO MUCH, miss, for finding all my friends,” he said, shaking my hand enthusiastically. “And thanks for giving them advice. We know now what to do with other opponents.”

“My pleasure,” I replied. “Now uh...what way is it to Pewter City? I want to take on the gym leader, there.” The boy pointed me off in the direction I apparently went before.

“A beaten path through the forest is clearer than it seems. Just follow that, and you’ll find your way into Pewter, no problem,” He explained. “And by the way, if we meet up again, I’d like to battle you, myself!”

“Maybe we could...just be warned, I’m keeping a flying type on my team!”

With that, I gave the boy a wink, and ran off through the forest, straight to Pewter City.

* * *

I’d never been to Pewter before, and in truth, it was rather wonderful. Just looking at the buildings around the city was amazing. The air smelled different...and even the ground felt different under my feet. I was spinning around to get a full view of the city, amazed by the buildings all around. I almost thought to go to the large building off to the back, but something else caught my attention.

There was a gym standing right in front of me. This gym seemed to be open, since the lights were on inside. Looking through the doors, it seemed rather small, but active. I smiled and looked a bit closer, nearly pressing my face to the glass door. 

Nobody else was in the gym except for one other trainer and the gym leader himself. Sure, it was less than I expected, but it was definitely more than what the Viridian City held. I took a deep breath, and almost thought to walk in, but a hand on my shoulder made me nearly jump out of my skin.

I shrieked and turned around only to come face to face with Ceru, who was smiling wide. I looked at him with wide eyes, and frowned at him.

“That scared me! You don’t know how that feels,” I whined, looking at him with the best ‘hurt’ expression I could convey. “With your parents always warning you about strangers when you’re young, that kinda sticks with you! We’re in a new town on our own, and--” But he was able to calm me down somehow by grabbing my arms.

“I just wanted to tell you...Brock, he was REALLY tough to take down. You might want to train your Pokemon just a little bit more before you face him…he deals with rock types and--”

“Ceru,” I said, an unamused look on my face. “Did you FORGET what fire types are weak against?!”

“Oh…” he said, looking to the side, rather embarrassed. “But...but that doesn’t matter, because look at this!” He smiled as he held up a small, gray, circular stone that shone in the sunlight. “See? I managed to beat him, and I got my first gym badge!”

“The Boulder Badge…” I breathed out in awe. My best friend has already surpassed me, despite being at a disadvantage due to the starter he picked. “Wow...I’m really impressed! You did great, Ceru!”

“Thanks,” He laughed out. “Hey, are you ready to challenge Brock, yourself? You look rather confident in your strength, even though you’re probably a few steps behind me.”

“Well, unlike you, _I_ picked a starter that has an advantage against rock types,” I said with a smile. “I’ll probably take down Brock faster than you ever would!” But at that, Ceru shook his head.

“Yeah, yeah, sure,” he mumbled. “But hey, either way, however it goes, meet me at the museum when you defeat him, would you?” He pointed off in the distance at a huge building. “That’s the Pewter City Museum. I’ve heard it’s got some really neat things in there. They dug up fossils. Like...like ACTUAL fossils of ancient pokemon!”

At that last statement, my face lit up like a candle. I was so interested to see what the pokemon of ancient times looked like.

“Oh! That sounds awesome,” I nearly squealed. “I’ll definitely be seeing you there soon!” I watched Ceru run off to the museum as I turned back to the gym’s door. I took another deep breath to calm myself, and then, I walked in.

The gym itself was awfully simple-looking, and not too furnished. Most of the floor was still just dirt, with only a path of wood leading to the center where they gym leader stood. I was about to walk up to him and just confront him then and there, but I heard a shout to my right.

“Hey! You,” The voice shouted as footsteps approached. “Think you could just mosey on in just like that? Nah-ah, no siree! You gotta get through me, first!” The boy who shouted at me spoke, holding up a pokeball. I merely smirked, holding up my own.

“Hope you’re prepared for a grass type, then,” I said as I tossed the pokeball to release my Bulbasaur. As it stood proud, almost growling at the trainer, who had already released a Geodude, I could swear I saw his confidence leave right out through his open, slackjawed mouth.

* * *

_Geodude. The Rock Pokemon._

_At rest, it looks exactly like a rock. If one is stepped on, it will swing its fists about wildly, trying to give payback to the one stepping upon it._

* * *

_I'd best watch out for these things when I go through caves, then._ I thought to myself as I watched the pallor on the boy's face increase at the sight of my pokemon.  
  


  
“A...B-B-Bulbasaur..h-huh?” the trainer stammered. “Heh...well...you know what?”

“What?” I shot back. I didn’t expect him to regain his composure so quickly for one his age.

“Your little Bulbasaur probably doesn’t even know any grass-type moves yet! And tackle, a normal-type move is NOTHING against a rock type!” The boy then sneered, his cocky attitude getting on my nerves. But I just smiled.

“Rafflesia...vine whip.”

Instead of simply smacking the Geodude around with her vines, she used her vines to lift it up by its wrists, then slam it into the ground. The young boy was stunned, since after only one hit, his Geodude was down.

He returned the Geodude to its pokeball, his face taking on the pallor it had before.

“Now...what were you saying?” I taunted, taking on a similar pose to him when he was originally talking smack about my pokemon.

“Uh...uh...S-Sandshrew!” 

The boy sent out an adorable Sandshrew that looked at Rafflesia, unflinching. I did for a moment think that it was the most adorable thing in the world, with those big, bulging dark and shining eyes, but this Sandshrew was an enemy.

* * *

_Sandshrew. The Mouse Pokemon._

_When hunting, it hides at the lip of its burrow. If prey comes close, it lunges out and drags in the prey instantly. If it fell from a great height, this Pokémon could save itself by rolling into a ball and bouncing._

* * *

“Once again, Rafflesia, vine whip.”

A similar maneuver to the last one took place. This time, Rafflesia picking up the Sandshrew by its waist and slamming it down. I admit, I felt bad for the poor thing. But the boy returned it right after he checked if it was still breathing.

“Sorry, miss. You can go ahead,” The boy said, bowing his head to me, and showing me in the direction of Brock, who was now sitting crosslegged on the platform in the center of the gym. His chin rested on his hand in a contemplative pose, and he was smiling, having witnessed the battle.

I walked up to him, and he stood to face me, looking rather proud. Looking up at him, I realized how tall he actually was. Hopefully, he wasn’t as intimidating as he looked.

“So, another trainer?” he asked, looking down at me, his dark brown eyes barely peeking out from his odd perpetual squint. “Welcome to the Pewter City gym! My name’s Brock, but I’m sure you knew that already.

“I saw you take down my friend over there rather easily, and I must say, I’m impressed. Now, that doesn’t mean you’d be able to take me down as easily, but we’ll see about that. Seems you already know the strategy of taking down rock and ground types well. A grass type. Pretty smart pick, little one, unlike the boy who was in here earlier…”

“Hey,” I retorted, knowing he was talking about Ceru. “You’ve got big talk for someone who you lost to using a fire type! He just came by telling me he beat you! And he had the badge to prove it!”

“Yeah, sure, after several tries, he did.” Brock scoffed.

“At least he didn’t give up! Isn’t that the mark of a good trainer?! Wouldn’t you be happy about that?”

“A good trainer may never know when to give up, but he’s not smart! A smart trainer knows to use a pokemon’s typing to its advantage! If he’d caught himself a fighting type on the way here, he’d have won easily!”

“SHUT UP!”

My scream rang through the gym, bouncing off the walls in an echo. And yet, even with the crowd control that made the gym leader’s eyes widen (and that was saying something), I wasn’t done shouting.

“LET’S JUST GET THIS OVER WITH!” And I sent out Rafflesia, about to tear his team apart with no remorse.

Looking back, I may have been a little rash with my actions and words, but in truth, even if I was calm, I would have won anyways.

Brock sent out a Geodude. It seemed equally as strong as Rafflesia.

I pointed my pokemon in the path of the Geodude and commanded her to use Vine Whip once again, like she did to the previous Geodude and Sandshrew before.

But what I didn’t expect was for this Geodude to grab onto the vines.

My jaw dropped in shock. When I was that young, I thought the whole thing was a flawless strategy. And I was outsmarted! I saw both Brock and the Geodude smirk, but I should have known Rafflesia wouldn’t have gone down so easily.

With the rock pokemon’s iron grip on the ends of her vines still effective, she was able to throw him into the air and slam him down like the others. Sure, the Geodude might have been smart, but he wasn’t smart enough to know when to let go.

Yet Brock seemed unphased. He returned his Geodude to its pokeball nonchalantly.

“Sure”, he started. “You were able to take him down, but he wasn’t my powerhouse.”

“Oh really?” I shot back. “Then what IS your powerhouse?”

“This.”

And with that, he sent out his second pokemon. A massive, towering segmented rock golem that dwarfed me easily. That thing must have been at least 30 feet tall, looking straight at me. I was in shock, but Rafflesia didn’t seem scared at all. In fact, she had a want to protect me.

“Meet Onix.”

Despite the fear creeping up my body making my blood run cold, looking up at the imposing serpent, I pulled out my pokedex and numbly listened to the voice after it identified my opponent.

* * *

_Onix. The Rock Snake Pokemon._

_It usually lives underground. It searches for food while boring its way through the ground at 50 miles per hour._

* * *

_FIFTY?!_ I thought, my fear nearly making my knees buckle. The first leader I fought had this monster of a pokemon on his team?

Yet Rafflesia wasn’t backing down. In fact, she was growling up at the giant snake.

I took a few deep breaths and tried to calm myself. A pure rock type. Not a times 4 weakness like his Geodude, but this should be easy either way. I should at least weaken it a bit.

“Leech seed!” I shouted, pointing towards the Onix. Rafflesia quickly stood on her front legs, and seeds rapid-fired out of the bud on her back, surrounded the rock-type.

It was a rather strange display to see, as every seed split and what looked like moss began snaking up the Onix and wrapping around each segment of its upper body. The giant pokemon thrashed about, trying to break free of the life sapping greenery, but I could see it becoming weak.

“Nice try, kid,” Brock said, his hands on his hips. “But I don’t think you accounted for his tail.” He was right. The Onix’s tail was still free from the moss that encroached on the rest of his body.

“Constriction!”

And the Onix suddenly wrapped its tail around Rafflesia, restricting her movement. Rafflesia however, knew exactly how to get out of the rock snake’s grasp. I didn’t even have to say it. The Onix didn’t get her bulb. Two vines shot out and wrapped around Onix, constricting him as well. And although his constriction tightened, Raff wasn’t having any of that, and her vines tightened as well.

The two struggled for quite some time, but the Leech Seed my Bulbasaur used earlier was starting to wear on the Onix, and it began to grow weaker until its tail loosened, letting Rafflesia wrench herself free, and she leapt from the Onix and into my arms. Only a few seconds later, the enormous rock monster collapsed, the force of the impact flinging dirt and dust everywhere, and nearly knocking me backwards.

And I will never forget the look on Brock’s face.

He was nothing short of awestruck.

“Okay,” Brock said, after he took a deep breath and exhaled. “I know the whole thing about type strengths and weaknesses and all. I mean, of course I do, I’m a gym leader...but...how...HOW on Earth did something that size take down a 30 foot monster like Onix?!”

“I...don’t know? Seriously,” I said, in probably about as much awe as Brock was. ”Rafflesia must have let her survival instincts kick in and kinda vine grappled during the constriction…”

“Either way,” Brock laughed, walking up to me. “That was quite an interesting battle, little lady. I had quite a good time watching your technique. You’re still young though, so I’d say...you’d probably need some time to refine it, but you got the job done and took down both of my pokemon! Because of that…

“You’ve earned this.”

And in the palm of his hand that he held out to me was a small, but shiny stone that glistened brilliantly. I was smiling so wide.

The Pewter Badge was mine.

I took it from him quickly, and nearly jumped for joy, but I had to control myself. Along with the badge, Brock handed me a small bundle of what I could only assume was a lot of money, and a CD, which I kind of stared at for a moment in confusion. 

“That thing,” he explained, pointing to the disc. “Is called a T.M. A technical machine, if you will. I hope you have some kinda case to keep that in…”

I knew there was a reason mom kept nagging me to bring my CD case.

I took out the CD case and set the CD into a pocket, snugly. I then shoved the money in my backpack, thinking I should organize it later. I ran my way out of the gym, waving goodbye to Brock.

The sun was setting, painting the sky a myriad of warm colors, reflecting off the silhouetted clouds. Had that much time passed? It was only 4 in the afternoon when I reached the place…

“You got a badge case, right? You don’t wanna lose that!”

At least this time he didn’t scare the bejeezus out of me by grabbing my shoulder before saying anything.

“Ceruuu!” I shouted, turning to face him. “‘Course I do! It’s in my backpack.” With that, I set my backpack down and dug through it for my badge case. I pinned the Pewter Badge to the top-left corner of the bottom’s plush surface, and clicked my case closed, shoving it back into my pack. I barely had a chance to seal my bag back up before Ceru grabbed and yanked my arm, trying to drag me to a new location.

“C’mon, c’mon,” he yelled like an excited kid about to go on a thrill ride at a carnival. “We’ve only got like 30 minutes until the museum closes!!!”

* * *

The burst of cool air that hit me when Ceru and I opened the doors was one of the most refreshing things I’d felt in my life. The Summer heat was the absolute worst, and walking into an air-conditioned building was quite the relief.

I’ve been to museums before, but this one was amazing. The skeletons of the ancient pokemon looked beautifully preserved, and in front of them were descriptions of what they were like. Ceru took my wrist and lead me over to the giant, winged one.

“See that?” Ceru asked, pointing up at it.

“See what? Is there something specific?” I was a little confused as to what he was talking about. The skeleton itself was huge. Of course I could see it.

“The jaw, Fay, look at the size of that thing’s jaw,” Ceru said enthusiastically, pointing up at it. “That thing could take off our heads in one bite! CHOMP!” He smacked the palms of his hands together, fingers entwined like they were rows of teeth. “Look here,” he whispered, pointing at the description. Around the words, it had a picture of what looked like an orange stone, and what the pokemon may have looked like before.

I instinctively scanned the picture of the pokemon with my Pokedex...yet no information could be found. I frowned, then turned it to the skeleton. It started taking down the information almost immediately. And the picture that showed up looked exactly like the one on the description.

* * *

_Aerodactyl. The Fossil Pokemon._

_A carnivorous, prehistoric Pokemon that always attacked its prey’s throat with its serrated, saw-like fangs._

* * *

“So cool!” I exclaimed, looking at the description. I sincerely hoped nobody saw me scanning it. It seemed like I was cheating.

I turned around and looked at the one behind me. A smaller skeleton, yet still standing tall stood behind us, with what looked like giant scythes on its hands. I wanted to scan this one too.

* * *

_Kabutops. The Shellfish Pokemon_

_This prehistoric Pokemon was an extremely swift swimmer. It caught prey with its scythe-like arms and drained the victim’s body fluids before consumption._

* * *

“Eugh…” I groaned, reading the description. I guess back then, it was quite a rough world. Soon enough, after looking at all the old fossils on the bottom floor, Ceru took me up to the top floor.

On the left side was what looked like a space shuttle, and several shining stones.

“See those?” Ceru asked. “Those are the moon stones. It’s said that a meteorite fell on the summit of Mt. Moon and created the moon stones. I think it was said they can make pokemon evolve.”

“Stones can do that?” I asked, my voice showing clear wonder. “That’s like magic! So cool! How do they do that?”

“Beats the heck out of me,” Ceru said, but as he went on, my eyes were drawn to what was behind him, a third fossil exhibit. I flipped open my pokedex once again and let it scan the skeleton. This one was much smaller than the others I’d seen, in the shape of what looked like a star.

* * *

_Omastar. The Spiral Pokemon._

_Its tentacles are highly developed as if they are hands and feet. As soon as it ensnares prey, it bites. Despite this, it went extinct when its heavy armored shell made it unable to catch prey._

* * *

Reading it, I frowned, feeling bad for the poor pokemon. I tilted my head back so I was staring Ceru in the face. I only heard the tail end of his pokemon stone explanation, and I just cluelessly nodded. But soon enough, the staff was clearing us out of the museum, as it was soon to close.

It was now dusk, stars beginning to peek in through the dark sky at us. We wandered about, tired from the long day of travel, looking for a campsite.

We found a small space near the edge of the town, where a lot of other young trainers were setting up tents, and ran in, trying to find a space big enough so we could be right next to each other. I was glad there was a space where Ceru and I could at least get some rest before continuing on with our journey.

And that was when I realized I didn’t know how to set up a tent. But...on a journey like this, you’re kinda forced to learn new things along the way.


End file.
